


Rest and Relaxation

by not nullbubby (NullBubby)



Series: adventures of dan the hot dog man [6]
Category: Kirby (Video Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:02:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23304346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NullBubby/pseuds/not%20nullbubby
Summary: Dan and his friend have a short break at Susie's house.
Relationships: Susie | Susanna Patrya Haltmann & Original Male Character
Series: adventures of dan the hot dog man [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1652671
Kudos: 3





	Rest and Relaxation

Birds, butterflies, and bugs flew around up in the sky lazily. The sun shone down brightly, and a few clouds rested in the air. A gentle breeze arrived every now and then, the flowers dancing to its call. Today was a perfect day, though on Popstar that wasn’t uncommon.

For two of the people walking down one of the paths, they were enjoying the day just as much as anyone else would. The boy in the lead was looking at the way forwards and periodically receiving instruction from the other on his head, who was looking down at the screen in his hands. Both were intently focused on where they were going more so than the scenery, and okay, maybe they weren’t quite taking it in fully. But hey, they were glad nothing was trying to kill them, at least.

Dan took another glance down at his screen and sighed. Mags picked him up all of a sudden and readjusted his robes, then set him back down without a word.

“We almost there yet?” Mags asked.

“Eh, looks pretty close. Lemme check again.” He looked down towards his tablet again to see the blinking indicator not too far off, actually. Judging by the surrounding features on the map, it looked to be just in front of them a short ways. “Shouldn’t be too far from here. Looks like it’s right in front of that hill over there.”

Mags held a hand at his forehead and squinted forwards. “Over there?” He stared off for a while. “It looks like there’s... some box or something over there. I dunno, I can’t make it out.”

Dan decided to take a look forward as well. Just as his friend had said, there was indeed a box of some sort laying just in front of the hill, looking to be directly placed on the battery’s indicator. He sighed and laid back against a pointed ear, making sure to continue holding on in doing so.

The two reached a point close enough to the cube where they could make out a few of its features, being a metallic structure mainly. Nothing else popped out at them for the time being, so they kept going forwards.

Upon reaching its front, the two noticed a metal door—from what they could tell—placed on the building. Mags simply stood in front of it, not doing anything.

“It’s in here?” he asked.

Dan checked again. “Yup. I’m sure.” He took a look at the wall just in front of them to see if there was an easy way of opening it. “Just, uh, knock, I guess?”

“O-okay.”

Mags lifted one of his hands and hesitantly pressed it to the door a few times, then waited patiently. Somewhere closeby, Dan thought he heard... something, but he couldn’t make out what it was.

“What do I say?” Mags whispered to him.

“Ask if...” He trailed off as he heard the same sound again, this time more clearly. It seemed to be someone sobbing, a fairly familiar voice though he couldn’t quite remember where he’d heard it before.

“Wait, what?”

He quickly snapped back to reality. “Oh, uh, ask if they have the battery.” He immediately focused back on the sounds from behind the house. “I don’t think anyone’s home right now. Well, I mean I think they might be in back.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I can hear someone back there. Crying, I think, but I’m not sure. Maybe we should... go back there, or something?”

Mags perked an ear up. “Yeah, I guess so. I think I hear it, too.”

They started towards the back side of the house, where Dan finally realized who was back there. He remained silent as Mags rounded the corner of the building.

Sitting there crying to herself, was Susie, face buried in her hands. She didn’t notice the two come up from behind the wall, so she continued her sobbing. Mags looked over to her somewhat nervously.

Dan was so surprised to see her there that he didn’t notice his friend whispering to him. Eventually, he got a light tap on the head, bringing him back to his senses.

“Do I ask her about the battery?” Mags whispered to him.

“Y-yeah. I... I know her. She’s the one that gave me the portal gun.”

Mags cleared his throat a few times, then raised his hand a little to speak. He set it back down without a word and looked down to the ground. Looking back up to her, he worked up the courage to talk to her.

“Uh, ‘scuse me.” He said it so quietly that there was no response. After looking back down again, he repeated himself, only louder. “E-excuse me, uh, miss.” Her head twitched a little, then slowly turned to look at them. Tears formed and rolled down her face continuously, but she didn’t make a word. “Y-you... you weren’t at the door, and I had a question.”

“My apologies,” she said, rather trembly. “What can I help you with?”

Dan whispered something to him. “Well, I was wondering if...” He scratched his head, but with no response. Moving his hand over, he gently nudged Dan, who repeated himself. “I was wondering if you could... if I could maybe borrow something from you. A... battery, I think it is.”

She wiped away a few tears. “I have several types. Can you please be more specific?”

“Uh...” He poked Dan again. “It’s used for this portal-creating device... thing.”

“One of those? I have several for what you need. If I may ask, what do you need it for? They’re only compatible with one model, and only one has been manufactured. It’s already been sent...” She paused and stared off for a while. “...far, far away.”

“It’s because... I need it for a friend of mine. He needs to use it for something.”

“A friend of yours, you say? What’s...” She almost broke down crying again, but stopped herself. “W-what’s their name?”

“Dan, I think it was?”

Something sparked in her. “Do you know where he is, n-now?”

“He’s, uh...” Mags was practically shoving him at this point, waiting to see if it was okay to tell the truth or not. “He’s with me now.”

“Could I... could I see him, please?” A few tears were forming in her eyes by now.

Dan whispered something in agreement. “Y-yeah, sure, let me go grab him.” Without even waiting for a response, he ducked back behind the building’s wall.

“You sure it’s safe for you to go with her?” Mags asked when they were out of view.

“Yeah, just put me in your hand or something and show me to her. She’s known me and was really nice, I don’t see why she’d change now.”

“But what if she did change? It could be dangerous, for all we know.”

“It’s fine, trust me on this.” Dan crawled up to an ear. “Come on, best not to keep her waiting.”

“If... if you say so, then I guess it’s fine.” Mags plucked him off and held him in a palm.

“H-hey!” he called out as he approached. “I have him with me, now.”

Susie looked behind him for a moment. “But... I don’t see anyone.”

“Uh, j-just... here, take a look for yourself.” He went up to her and reluctantly placed out his open hand. Dan stood on it and simply stared at her.

She gasped suddenly, and held a hand to her face. “Could I...?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Gently, she lifted him off onto her own hand and stared him back. They stood there in silence for a few moments, until tears started returning to her eyes. With one quick motion, he was slammed against her chest and locked there by two hands as she completely broke down again. Several drops rained down, thoroughly drenching him in no time.

Mags, feeling uneasy just standing there, backed up nervously. A short ways down, he walked out to the house’s side to let the two have a moment.

After a few minutes, Susie had recovered enough to at least speak again. She loosened her hold on Dan and raised him near her face but was interrupted by a short wave of tears.

“I... I missed you.” she said finally.

Dan was slightly flattered. “You... did? But what have I done?”

“You...” Her voice trembled. “You’re the only person to have ever cared about me!” She broke down again and locked him in a tight hug.

Dan did his best to look up at her, though it wasn’t easy considering his situation. Her face was so close now that he could make out the clear teardrops as they emerged from her shut eyelids. One fell on top of him, forcing him to look away for at least a moment. He definitely felt sorrow for her, but he was also seriously hoping he could at least return to normal after all this.

* * *

When she was almost back to her old self, she got up and held out Dan in an open palm. He quickly got up as well and looked around to see where Mags had gone.

He spotted him almost immediately, standing against one of the metal walls. Susie passed by without even acknowledging his existence. Dan called out to her as they went by.

“What is it?” she asked, looking towards him.

“Can he come along as well?”

“You mean your friend over there?” Dan nodded. “Of course. I won’t separate the two of you if you wouldn’t like it.”

She waved to him and motioned to come with her. Mags fidgeted with his hands and followed. When they reached the front of the house, the door opened automatically and they entered.

Just inside looked to be a kitchenette, though it could have been a pocket lab for all Dan knew. He wasn’t able to get a good look around before he was taken down a hall and into one of the doors, which just so happened to be an actual lab. He was immediately set down in what he remembered as the size restoration machine, which was turned on soon after. Mags could be seen panically talking to Susie before the smoke completely blocked his view.

Thankfully, he was just fine after the procedure and walked out of the larger tube without any side effects as far as he was concerned. Mags ran up as soon as he stepped out.

“You’re okay! I didn’t know what could have happened to you there!”

Dan looked him in the eye. “It’s fine, I’ve gone through this a few times before.”

Mags stepped back when he saw Susie approaching. She didn’t stop in front of Dan and instead went up for a hug, which he certainly wasn’t expecting. She patted his back a few times and closed her eyes tightly, then let go.

“Glad to be back to normal, finally.” Then to Mags, “Guess I won’t be resting on top of your head any longer.” They all stood in silence for a short while. “What now?”

Susie went up to the hallway door. “Come with me.”

The boys looked at each other for a moment, then followed.

The three went down the hallway into the adjoining room. Inside was a single bed with not much else besides a nightstand next to it.

“I think you two should get some rest soon. I’m sure you’ve been adventuring for quite some time already.”

“But there’s only one bed!” Mags complained. “How are both of us supposed to use it at the same time?”

“There is another in the opposite room, do not worry about that.” She turned to Dan. “Let me bring you there.”

Dan gave an awkward wave to his friend, then followed Susie out the door. She led him into the next room, which was almost an exact replica of the previous one, only with a bigger bed.

“This is where you can rest for now. It’s almost night time, so make yourself at home for the time being.” She went towards the door and waved to him, then entered the hall. Now that she mentioned it, he did feel fairly tired.

Dan set his backpack down, which had been aching his shoulders, then took out his tablet. After only a few seconds he put it back without anything to do on it. He sighed and walked out towards Mags’ room in hopes of passing the time.

Upon entering, a bright ball of light narrowly missed hitting his face. Dan looked towards the source to see Mags covering his invisible mouth with his hands, and his book opened up on the bed.

Mags hurried towards him. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know you were coming in here, so I—”

“Relax, it’s fine. I was just coming in here to see if we could, I dunno, do something for a while till we get sleepy enough to get to bed.”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” He set his hands down and looked around. “What’cha wanna do?”

“I dunno. What were you doing before I came in?”

“Just practicing some magic, that’s all. Seeing if I could maybe perfect some old ones.”

Dan looked over to the book again. “Might be best to do that some other time. In case something goes wrong and the house blows up, y’know?”

“Okay, fine.” He walked over and closed the book, then laid down on his bed. A short pause. “I don’t really know what else to do, so...”

Dan looked around and thought for a moment. When coming out empty, he walked over to the bed and sat down. Mags quickly got up from his lying position and turned to face him. Both stayed silent, so he dropped his eyes to the floor.

“If it’s okay to ask, who’s that girl that’s been helping us?” he asked after a while. “You said you knew her, didn’t you?”

“She’s, uh, a friend. I met her not too long ago, and she’s helped me in the past.”

Mags started on something, then cut himself off. He swallowed a couple of times, then opened his mouth to speak, albeit somewhat anxiously. “Uh, you know why she was crying outside? I-if that isn’t a sensitive topic.”

Dan stared for a moment. “From what she said, she... she missed me. It’d probably be best not to talk about this in case she overhears us, okay?”

“Okay...”

They both sat on the bed for a while, keeping their eyes on the floor. A faint clanging was heard from the lab next door, which quickly subsided.

“I think I’m just gonna go to bed now,” Dan said, getting up. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He walked out without receiving a word and headed back to his own room. Maybe he wasn’t really ready to go to bed, but for some reason he just wanted to be alone for a little. Sticking around with his friend was fine, he didn’t have a problem talking to him, but perhaps he could just lay around for a little while on his own.

Back in his room, he pulled his tablet out of his bag and sat down on the bed. He started to explore random applications on it, but got bored quickly. Eventually, he just put it away and decided to get to bed for real.

Just as he started to take off his scarf, the door in front of him opened, revealing Susie in the doorway. She walked up a short distance and stopped not too far away from the bed.

“Going to bed now?” she asked.

“Yeah.” Dan felt like there was more to say, but couldn’t think of anything.

A short pause. “Would you mind if I... say, had a request of you?”

“Yeah?”

She looked away slightly and held her hands together. “I was wondering if... perhaps I could sleep with you tonight?”

Dan looked at her and opened his mouth slightly to speak, but nothing came out. A hundred thoughts rushed through his head, some fantasizing on things he certainly should not do, while others were more tame. He remained silent and continued staring, focused on his mind.

Without any clear response, she became slightly ashamed of herself, though without showing it. “O-oh, I’m... I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I should have taken into account your...” She backed up towards the door. “I apologize.” She bowed slightly and quickly exited the room.

He continued to stare for a short while until realizing what he was doing in the first place. After taking off all his accessories and setting them down, he took out his pillow and set it down on the bed, despite there already being one there. He laid down and crawled under the sheets, then clutched onto his pillow tightly and closed his eyes. Tomorrow, he’d have to continue his journey again, but at least he’d be refreshed for it.

* * *

Dan opened his eyes and futility looked at his watch, only to remember that it didn’t have any power. It was well past sunset, he knew, but he wasn’t exactly sure when. He rolled over onto his other side and closed his eyes once again. His legs weren’t feeling all that comfortable at the moment, but he didn’t want to adjust them.

A few minutes later, he realized that he might be up all night if he didn’t do something. Setting down his pillow and getting up, he thought about what to do. He could go and use Mags as a pillow instead, but he didn’t want to wake him. Nothing in his backpack would exactly help in this situation, so he turned to the last option he could come up with. He hoped she was still open to the suggestion, despite what had happened.

After putting on his jacket and hat, he left for the hall. Upon exiting, he realized he had no idea what any of the other rooms were besides Mags’. He looked around for a moment, then decided to try the next door over, which happened to open just as he approached. Inside was a much larger bed, as well as plenty of furniture that he couldn’t make out in the darkness. Susie was laying on the bed, fast asleep, so he quietly backed out into the hall. Without any other ideas, he went back to his own bed and stared at the wall blankly.

Only seconds later, Susie appeared at the doorway, startling him. He grew anxious just looking at her.

“Did you need something?” she asked.

Nervousness came seeping into him. “N-no, sorry to wake you.”

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t expect you to be up this late into the night.” Dan opened his mouth, then looked to the ground. She walked towards him a bit. “Are you having trouble sleeping?”

“Yeah,” he answered tensely, not moving his head.

She looked at him for a moment. “Is something the matter?”

“I... I had a question,” he said, then immediately regretted it.

“Yes?”

“Uh...” He tried coming up with some other thing to ask, but came out blank. He really wanted to just ask her, but he couldn’t make himself do it. “I was thinking that maybe I could... take up on your request from earlier. If you’re still open to it.”

She thought to herself for a moment, trying to remember what he meant. Moments passed with no words coming out, making Dan uneasy for asking about it.

“Of course.” She walked up and sat down next to him before he even processed the answer. Something inside her was just glad to be with him again, but something else was reminding her that he had been through a lot recently. She made a mental note to be gentle with him, though it wasn’t like she hadn’t been already.

Dan said nothing, but jumped slightly when she sat down next to him. He felt awkward, not knowing what to do, and looked down, kicking his legs slightly. Despite her appearance, Susie also felt somewhat uncomfortable, but was looking up at him.

They remained like this for a while until Susie broke the silence. “I assume it would be best to get to sleep, soon.”

“Yeah.” Dan prepared to lay down, but felt uncomfortable being the first one to do so. He leaned himself on his arms, placed behind him, so he could fall back into the position at any time. Eventually he decided to just push through the discomfort and laid down. Susie followed suit a moment later, facing him in doing so.

“Good night,” she whispered, putting a hand on his back. If it hadn’t been so dark, she would’ve been able to see his flushed face, though she knew of it anyways. She slowly moved her hand up until it reached his arm, which was gently placed over her. By now, Dan was breathing a little faster from his situation, which she noticed right away. Instead, though, she mistook it for uneasiness and withdrew her hand quickly. He took his own hand back soon after.

“Oh, I’m... sorry,” she said ashamedly. “I didn’t mean to discomfit you.”

He wanted to say that it was fine, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. They made eye contact for a second, then she looked away embarrassedly. A moment passed, then he closed his eyes to try and get some sleep regardless. Susie kept awake for a while longer, simply looking towards him. They had only just begun and she already messed it up. She hoped he would just forget about it by morning.

* * *

Something suddenly gave Dan a slight nudge, waking him up. He had gotten poor sleep from being up so late, so he didn’t open his eyes to look around. Another nudge was given, and only now did he realize that something was holding onto him softy. He was squeezed just a little more tightly than he already was, then released into a gentle grasp. Still tired out, he laid still until he got his energy back.

One short squeeze later and he felt awake enough to at least look around. Opening his eyes, he was met with two armless hands placed over his chest, holding him in a sort of hug. Behind came the soft breathing of Susie laying down just next to him. He did his best to move just his head to look at her, which wasn’t easy given that he didn’t move the rest of his body. He could just barely see that her eyes were closed, but they seemed to be twitching a little. As he set his head down, he was pulled in tight and held against her entire body, now having no chance of moving without waking her.

A few minutes in this position later, Dan could hear her moving about slightly on the bed. Not a moment later, she opened her eyes to see him directly against her, but she didn’t let go. Dan didn’t quite know she was awake yet and got pulled into a tight hug before he knew it. Quite a while later, her grip loosened slightly, though with him lost in thought he didn’t even feel it.

He didn’t even know how long he was kept like this, but eventually he was released from his grasp. Susie moved herself some distance away from him, still on the bed. The blanket over him suddenly was pulled off and he immediately held onto himself to keep warm. It was so, so cold and he didn’t know how long he could stay out from the sheets.

A hand was placed atop his arm just then, giving him a bit of warmth. After a moment it was stroked across the rest of his arm, and he closed his eyes slightly. When it reached his wrist, it was lifted off, leaving him back in the freezing cold. He shivered slightly just as he felt his arm stroked again, this time a little more gently than before.

The process was repeated a few times, only to abruptly end in a pause. His shivering intensified, then cut out as the blanket was lifted back over him. Susie placed her hand beneath the cover and repeated the process again.

His head was gently rubbed after a while, and he couldn’t help but give off a comfortable hum. He condensed his legs slightly and completely closed his eyes now, completely relaxed. Everything was just so perfect—he didn’t want this moment to end.

Upon opening his eyes, he was met with Susie’s face just inches away from his own. She immediately gave a slight gasp and got up off the bed. Dan could hear intense breathing as he turned around to look at her. The two just looked at each other in silence for a moment.

“Oh, I... didn’t know you were awake.” She backed up slightly.

Dan again felt too shy to say anything about it. A little staring later and she hurriedly walked out the door without another word. He really wanted to go up and say that he actually liked what she was doing, but his nervous character held him back. Turning over on his other side, he immersed himself in thinking about the situation, maybe wishing that he had kept his eyes closed.

* * *

A few doors opening was enough to get his eyes open at last. The sun was shining brightly outside, but its rays couldn’t make it in through the specially designed window on the wall. Next to him was his spellbook that he forgot to put away from yesterday, though it didn’t matter as it hadn’t interrupted his sleep. Perhaps he could just lay in bed for a while longer to get some more rest. Or maybe just until someone came in to get him up. He for some reason didn’t want to be up way before everyone else and be wandering around the house.

A little after he closed his eyes again, he heard the door to his room open. He paused for a moment, then looked up to see who it was, but it had already closed by the time he did so. Well, it looked like someone else was awake, at least, so maybe he would get up, too.

Getting out from the sheets and onto the floor, he adjusted his hood so his face couldn’t be seen. Even though he had made good friends with Dan, he still felt a little insecure about showing it to him. That, and it was also a force of habit.

There wasn’t anything he could use to look at himself in, so he had to get creative. Trying to stay as quiet as possible, he whispered a few words and waved his hands, only for a short spark to sizzle out just in front of him. He tried it again, receiving the same results. Perhaps he needed to say it normally instead of whispering it. Or he was doing it wrong. He hoped it was the latter and picked up his book.

According to his guide, he was doing it correctly. With a little unease, he looked out in front of himself towards an empty wall. Should he just ask... that girl for a mirror? But his hood might not be completely covering himself and he wouldn’t know how to adjust it until seeing. She might not even care, though. He could probably just ask for her not to tell Dan about it, since she looked considerate of others. But what if she did tell him? Several thoughts raced through his mind, and he eventually settled on figuring out his magic correctly.

Several mumbled attempts later, he still was getting the same result. He really didn’t want to have to speak any louder, but it seemed like he had to to be able to get his intended result. If he did, then he was sure either of the other two would come in and see what he was up to. And then he would get embarrassed about it and wouldn’t be able to forget it. Maybe a blanket could muffle the sound? At least a little, he hoped.

Blanket draped over his head, he held his hands out and prepared the motions. After stammering on it a few times, he eventually got it just right, and a small crystal appeared floating in the air. He tossed the bedsheet back randomly and quickly took a look in the gem. Everything looked good, so all that time was spent panicking over nothing. At least he knew he was okay.

The crystal disappeared into thin air with the touch of a hand. He was finally ready to go outside and... what was he doing? Maybe he could have a short chat with the pink-haired girl, ask a few questions and whatnot. Seemed reasonable, but his shyness was telling him no. He simply shoved the voice away and told himself that she was Dan’s friend, and at least had some sort of connection with her. After setting away his book and putting the blanket on the bed, he walked out into the hall.

Right off the bat he had no idea what any of the rooms were. Dan had gone to one of the other rooms, but he didn’t know which. For a split second he thought of just returning to his room for a little, but he at least wanted to make himself acquainted with his host. Without giving it much thought, he entered the room right next to his own. Inside was the lab from the previous day, completely deserted. He quickly exited and headed for the room opposite this one after taking a look around.

The next room had a large bed with several... round things placed at one of the ends, and more importantly just the person he was looking for. She was sitting at the edge of her bed, staring off at one of the walls. It didn’t look like she noticed him come in, so he stood there awkwardly for a moment.

Mags gulped once, then again. “Uh, excuse me.”

She looked at him. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you come in. What do you need?”

“I was just wondering if I could... well, I maybe had a few things I wanted to ask you.”

“Of course.” She turned her whole body to face him.

“Okay...” He stood there for a moment and looked to the floor, twiddling with his hands. Immediately he looked back up so he wouldn’t be seen as awkward.

“Excuse me for a moment, but may I ask that we perform this somewhere else?”

“Oh, sure.”

She got up and led the way out the door. Mags followed into the lab and stood around, not knowing what to do. The girl sat down on one of the stools and motioned for him to do the same.

“What would you like to know?” she asked as he sat down.

“Okay, uh...” He fidgeted with his hands. “I’ve known you since yesterday, but... I still don’t know your name yet.”

“Oh, my apologies for not introducing myself earlier. I am Susie, secretary of the Haltmann Works Corporation. I am still unacquainted with you, so may I ask the same?”

He stared at her for a second. “...what?”

“What is your name?”

“Oh. My name’s Magolor, but Dan just calls me Mags... for whatever reason.” After a moment, he added, “And I, uh, know a little bit of magic.”

“Would you prefer if I addressed you as one over the other?”

“No, either is fine.” They stayed in silence for a moment. “But if you want to choose, then I guess call me Mags.” He looked around, trying to remember what else he had planned to ask. “You said you’re a secretary or something, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

“Doesn’t that mean you need to be at your company, then? Doing... work and stuff?”

“There is a rather complex set of reasons as to why I don’t. To put it simply, I have representatives in my place, but that is only one piece to it.” She sighed. “And I’m glad for that, too.”

Mags took another look around the room. “How come you have that machine thing that set Dan back to normal again? Was it made for just that?”

“That’s a long story that I’m sure you won’t want to hear. To your second question, yes, it is.”

He considered whether or not he should ask his next question. After a moment, he decided to as Susie looked like the kind of person who could forgive him about it if it was wrong. “And, uh, speaking of him, is there something wrong with him? He looks kinda... I dunno, different.”

“As far as I know, there is nothing wrong with him. I do know why he’s been acting the way he has, but that’s not something you’d need to know.” She giggled to herself, so softly that he almost didn’t hear.

He kept silent for a while, trying to come up with anything else to ask. “Well, I think I’m just about good. Thanks for the help.”

She got up and held a hand in front of him. “You are welcome.”

He stared at it for a moment, not knowing what to do. Something clicked inside of him all of a sudden and he held out his own hand as well. After a short handshake, she left the room, giving him a small wave at the door. He stayed for a while longer, looking around at the furnishing of the area, then left for his room again. Now, he really had nothing to do. Or at least until Dan got up, maybe.

* * *

Judging by the voices he had heard, it seemed like Mags was awake already. Well, it looked like his plan of having a short chat with Susie without him knowing was gone now. But maybe she could do something about it. After all, she was really caring towards him.

Immediately out the door was Mags, who he almost bumped into trying to exit. The two made eye contact, but said nothing.

“Oh, s-sorry.” Mags backed up slightly.

“It’s fine.” Without another word, Dan continued down the hall.

At the end of the hall was two doors, and from last night he knew which was the one to Susie’s room. Though it’d probably be best not to barge into her room, so he waited just outside. Almost immediately he felt that it was weird and went back towards his own room until she came out.

Just as he approached his room, a door opened behind him. He turned around to see Susie walk out of her own room and into the lab, giving him the perfect opportunity for what he needed. Mags had already entered his own room and it didn’t seem like he was coming out anytime soon, so Dan headed for the lab as well.

Inside, Susie was sitting on one of the seats and looking at him. She patted one of the other stools nearby, and he walked over to sit down.

“You wanted to talk, yes?” she asked.

“Yeah.” Dan scratched his head. “How did you know?”

“You were just waiting outside my room, what else could you be doing there?”

“But how—nevermind. I... yeah, I wanted to talk to you.”

She looked away slightly. “Is this about our... interaction on the bed?”

“Y-yes.” He was about to continue, but he stopped himself.

“I am deeply sorry for my actions. I should have considered how you may have felt about it.”

Before she could say another word, Dan cut her off without even realizing. “No, it’s not that. I just...” He felt so embarrassed and almost couldn’t finish the sentence. A knot in his throat made his voice almost too quiet to hear. “I just wanted to say that I liked what you were doing. It was really relaxing, actually.”

She looked up slightly. “You did?”

“Yeah, it was nice. And I was maybe wondering... nevermind.”

“You’d like me to do it again?”

“Y-yes.” He felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement at the same time. “But—why are you so open to it? Isn’t it a lot of work?”

She did her best impression of a smile. “Of course it is. But what matters is the payoff.”

“But what comes from—” He quickly realized what she meant. “Oh...”

Susie got up and walked towards him a short ways. “Come. I’m sure you will need to get going, soon.”

He said nothing as he got up and followed her out the door. This was practically a dream come true, and he could barely wait any longer to get started. It would have to end at some point, but for the time being he could just relax himself.

* * *

Should he just go and ask to do something with Dan? He pondered on the question as he paced around the room mindlessly, never looking up from the floor. He was so bored, and he had no idea what to do. Maybe he could ask when they were going? But he couldn’t work up the courage to go and ask one of the others. With a sigh, he went to his bed and sat down.

After quite a while, he decided he couldn’t take it anymore. He got up and started towards the door, then stopped just in front of it. Something inside him was holding him back from going out and talking to the other two, preventing him from going any further. But they were his friends, after all, so he did his best to ignore it and went into the hall.

From what he had seen, the door directly across from his own had to be Dan’s room. Again, he walked up and paused just in front of it, reconsidering whether he should go in or not. Being so close, it almost sounded like... he couldn’t tell, but it sounded like something was going on in there. Okay, so maybe he shouldn’t interrupt him and just go back to his room. After a long mental debate, he just decided to go anyway and hope he didn’t screw something up. When he walked inside, he was met with a sight he was sure to never see, though it wasn’t like he was thinking about it either.

Dan was laying on his bed, eyes closed and hands over himself under a blanket. He showed a relaxed expression on his face, most likely because of Susie sitting on the bed in front of him. She was gently massaging him from his arm, hidden from view under the blanket, and his head, ruffling his fairly long hair in doing so. Upon hearing the door open she looked up to him.

“Oh, was I—”

She quickly shushed him and gestured towards Dan without stopping her procedure. “Please get going,” she whispered, motioning for him to leave. “He is currently enjoying this moment.”

Dan twitched and mumbled something incoherent.

“Shhh. It’s nothing, relax.” She quickly motioned for him to leave again.

Mags simply stood for a second, staring at the sight. Upon snapping back to reality and noticing the gesture, he hurriedly headed back to his room. It didn’t need to be spoken for him to know not to talk to Dan about what he saw. Neither of them would feel comfortable with the ensuing conversation.

* * *

One more rub on his head was enough to get him humming again. His legs quivered slightly, then subsided after a short while. This had just about been all he could wish for at the moment.

The reminder that he had to leave eventually suddenly struck his mind. Instead, though, he ignored it and continued embracing the massage. Maybe he’d bring it up, maybe not, but he didn’t think about it all that much and set it aside to focus on the relaxation currently underway.

Despite his inner thoughts, he subconsciously brought the idea back. He felt his face moving, then all of a sudden he muttered something about going somewhere soon.

Susie gently shushed him. “I’m sure you will have time for that later, don’t worry about it.”

He involuntarily repeated himself. Susie kept silent and instead moved a hand onto his forehead. She began massaging it as well, and Dan started to feel even more relaxed than he just had been, which he found hard to believe. He opened his eyes slightly to see a hand passing by a few times, then slowly closed them.

“Go to sleep,” she whispered. “You didn’t rest well last night.”

He unwillingly raised an arm towards her, only to have it gently set back down without stopping the process. With everything going on, it didn’t take long for him to get dozing, and he dropped his legs slightly on top of each other. Susie didn’t stop there, despite knowing he was asleep, and decided to continue on for a while longer.

While stroking his arm once, it suddenly twitched and trapped her hand beneath it. Her hand was held in front of Dan’s pillow, and he grabbed them both and held on tight. It’d be hard to escape his hold without waking him, so best just do something to pass the time. She laid down on his other side, careful to keep her hand in place, and closed her eyes. That was certainly a tiring procedure, but on the bright side, she got to use him as a pillow for the time being.

* * *

Dan quickly opened his eyes from seemingly nothing. He was laying in bed, but he felt something warm against his back. Without even turning around, he already knew what it was. Opening his eyes, he immediately spotted one of her hands within his grasp and immediately let go. Susie started getting up upon being released.

“Did you sleep well?” she asked.

“Yeah.” He started getting up himself. “I... I didn’t know I was holding onto you for—”

She held up a hand to silence him. “It is alright. If I get to play with my most favorite pet, that is absolutely fine by me.” She giggled softly.

Dan only seemed confused by her last remark. It seemed very out of place for her character, but he was more focused on the fact that what he did was okay. While lost in thought, his stomach grumbled, almost without him noticing. He held a hand over it embarrassingly.

“Oh, uh...” Dan looked towards the floor nervously.

“Would you like something to eat?”

“Yes, please.” He remained on his bed as Susie got up and went towards the door.

“Come,” she said, motioning for him to follow.

He grabbed his hat and put it on, then the rest of his attire and followed her out the door. On the way out, he set his jacket and scarf over himself. They made their way to the kitchenette, where she gestured for him to sit down on one of the chairs.

“I assume your friend must be feeling the same way.” Susie started towards the hall. “Let me go get him.”

A short while later, she reappeared with Mags in tow. He took a seat next to Dan and stared forwards. A plate of fruit was suddenly placed in front of the two of them, but neither made a move to get any.

“Go ahead, eat as much as you’d like,” Susie said, motioning towards the food.

Still no movement between them. After a moment, Dan decided to grab an apple and take a bite out of it. A little dry, but that was fine. Mags stared forwards for a while longer, then decided to grab an apple for himself.

When he was finished, Dan wiped his mouth with his jacket and hesitantly picked up another apple for later. Despite only having one, it seemed to fill him up completely. To his side, Mags was tossing his fruit between his hands, having made no move to eat any.

“Something wrong?” Dan asked upon seeing.

“N-no, I just... don’t want to eat right now.”

He was about to ask why, but stopped himself. He knew well enough that there was something else Mags was afraid or uncomfortable with, seeing as Dan had gone through a similar type of scenario as well.

After another look towards him, Dan got up and decided to look around for where Susie was. It looked like it would be time to go soon enough, so best to prepare for it now. His first guess would be her room, of course, but he didn’t want to enter without permission, no matter how forgiving she was. The next best bet would probably be the lab, so he decided to go there.

Inside, she was tinkering with something hidden behind her body. She was so focused that she didn’t even notice Dan enter the room. He took a few steps towards her, unsure of what he was going to say.

“Hey,” he called out to her.

Despite his level of volume, she turned around to face him. Her face was covered by an opaque orange visor, which she set down a moment later. “What is it?”

“Well, I was thinking that I’d need to get going soon. ‘Cause I can’t stay forever, and I need to get home.”

She set down her tools and got up. “I can prepare your portal device for you, if you’d like. And perhaps give it a few tweaks in the process.”

“Yeah, that’d be nice.” He started towards the door. “And I guess I’ll tell Mags to prepare, too.”

He walked out the door and into his room. Mags was still sitting in front of the plate, now completely static besides his breathing. After packing everything inside his backpack, he picked it up and headed back towards the lab.

“Hey, you might want to start packing your things up,” Dan said in front of the lab’s entrance. “We’re gonna be going soon. Meet us in the lab when you’re done.”

Mags said nothing and simply turned around to look at him. He nodded his head and watched as Dan left his vision through the door. There wasn’t a whole lot he needed to get. Just his book, and that was about it. He got up, apple in hand, and started towards his room.

Susie was already waiting for Dan inside. He stood staring at her for a moment, then remembered what he was doing and took out the PCD to give to her. She took it without a word and started work with it on one of the tables.

Mags entered the room just as she finished. She got up and started towards Dan, almost bumping into his friend along the way.

“Oh, excuse me.” She slipped by and gave the portal device to Dan. “It is all set now. I have made a few modifications to it, which I can show if you’d like.”

“Uh, okay.” He handed it back.

After pressing a few buttons on it, she walked towards an empty part of the room. Mags peeked out from behind a table to get a look, despite easily being able to walk out from behind it.

“The first function is a standard blaster. It simply stuns any organism or machine its rays come into contact with.” She pressed a button on it again. “This is the portal setting that you have come to know. I haven’t modified it in any way.” She pressed the button once more. “And this one is... something special. I would suggest not to use it anytime soon, but I’ll show you it some other time, perhaps.”

Dan took it back. “Well, uh, thanks for setting this up. And all the help, too.”

“Say, before you go, would you happen to know the coordinates to your home dimension?”

“Uh... no?”

“Oh, that’s alright. I was just wondering.”

“Okay...” He scratched his head, then faced her. “Uh, thanks for all the help you’ve given me. And Mags. That’s... I really can’t thank you enough.”

“It has been my pleasure.” She went up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Until we meet again, I suppose?”

Dan felt his eyes watering up, but did his best not to show it. “Y-yeah.” He looked down as he noticed Mags coming out from behind a table. “Thanks again.”

She stepped back and let Dan do his thing. Instead, though, he stood there, still looking down and not moving. Immediately she knew what was up and approached him again. She placed a hand on his shoulder and rubbed it around.

“It’s okay,” she whispered, “I’m here for you.”

He was about to say something, then broke down in tears. She quickly took his hand and slowly guided him to the nearest wall and sat him down. Mags came over soon after, not quite sure what to do.

“Could you grab his tablet for me?” she asked Mags.

While he walked over towards his backpack, she focused on comforting Dan for a short while. When he returned, she said a few words to him and got up.

“Excuse me for a moment.” She took the tablet and walked to one of the tables. Mags took her place beside him.

“Uh...” Mags awkwardly placed a hand on Dan’s back and slid it around a little. “I’ll be here, too. Just... remember that.”

Dan looked up towards him slightly, but said nothing. That backrub wasn’t all that comfortable, but he couldn’t tell him to stop through his sobs. He looked back down and leaned his head on his friend.

Mags looked up towards Susie. “You almost done over there?” he whispered to her. At that very moment, she turned around and walked towards them, holding the tablet and what looked like a headband. She walked up just in front of Dan.

“I have modified your device here,” she said, holding it out in front of him. “I’ve added the feature for you to give me a call at any place or time. I can show you how to use it right now, so you can do so later. Would you like that?”

He lifted his head slightly and nodded.

After a short explanation, albeit watching somewhat inattentively, he sagged his head back down.

“Would you like to give it a try now?”

He nodded again. Susie lightly took the tablet and set it up for him, then walked out of the room, giving him a wave on the way out. Just a moment later, something flashed on his screen.

“Hello? Can you hear me?” came Susie’s voice from the tablet.

Mags responded, as it didn’t look like Dan could any time soon. “Yeah. Loud and clear.”

“That’s good to hear.” Addressing Dan, “If you’re ever feeling down, just give me a call, and we can work it out. Or if you have news I should hear, or perhaps even if you just want to say hello. I’ll do my best to respond, but I’m not always available.”

Something flashed again and she came in through the door. “I can always be there for you,” she said, approaching them, “no matter where you are.”

Dan looked up towards her. By now, he had his crying controlled, at least a little. “T-thanks,” he said in a quaver.

“I have something else for you, too.” She held out the headband-looking thing in front of him. He looked at it for a moment, not quite knowing what it was.

“What’s that?”

“You do not recognize it?” She held it up a little, still not giving him a clue.

“No...”

“Let me show you.” She plucked his hat off and placed it on a table. The strange object was placed on his head, extending into a ring that surrounded it after being secured. Two points extended upwards from the sides a short ways. Mags giggled a little at the sight.

“I can’t see it. What is it?”

Susie took his tablet and pressed something on it. A moment later, she held it in front of him, set to its front camera view. On his head looked to be the hat she was wearing, only adjusted to fit himself. Even he couldn’t help but chuckle a little when seeing it.

“Oh it’s...” He didn’t finish his sentence.

“If you’d like to remember me.” She pressed her hand to it and it retracted back into the headband. “Keep it.”

Now feeling better, Dan got up and looked towards her, eyes still a little wet. “Thank you.”

She handed his hat back to him. “Time to go, I suppose.”

“Yeah. I... just thank you for all the help.” He stood looking towards the ground for a moment. Mags got up from behind and walked up. “If it isn’t too much, could I ask something of you?.”

“Go ahead.”

“You happen to have any more of those batteries? It’s a pain to go searching for them all the time.”

“I do. From what I can tell, your only limitation is your storage size. Let me grab a few.” She walked to the back of the room and pressed her hand next to a drawer. It opened up and she grabbed a handful of the batteries, then went back towards them. “Where would you like them?”

“In my backpack’s fine. Lemme show you where.” He took it to her and opened up a pocket on the front, where she dumped them all in. After closing it up, he started to put it back on his shoulders, then set it back down as he remembered something. “Thanks one last time for helping.”

“Of course.” She walked up and gave him a hug, which he returned. They remained like this for a while, then she let go and approached Mags to do the same. “And I haven’t forgotten about you.” She had to lean slightly to be able to give him a squeeze. Upon finishing, she walked back up to Dan, who was preparing the portal. A few tears were in his face again, but he brushed them off.

“Is it okay if I shoot it here?” he asked.

“Of course.” She waved her hand towards an empty portion of the room. “Over here, preferably.”

He walked over, aimed the blaster, then fired away, creating a vortex in the area. Dan walked back to his backpack, but still didn’t put it on.

“I will be seeing you,” she said. “Have a safe journey home.”

“And, uh, good luck on... whatever you’re doing, too.” Dan walked over towards the portal.

“I guess I gotta say thanks as well,” Mags said as he passed by. “That’s really nice of you.”

“It was a pleasure meeting you for the first time.” She gave him a gentle pat on the head.

Mags hopped in the backpack and was lifted into the air. The two gave her a wave, which she returned. After quite a while of doing nothing, Dan finally approached the portal. He looked up at her with tears in his eyes, then wiped them away. With one final wave, he hopped in at last to finally continue his travels home.

Susie remained there for a short while longer, staring at the portal. She didn’t like to have to see him go, but he had to get home eventually. Hopefully he’d return, because it was really nice getting to spend some time with him. Even using him as a pillow. The vortex closed off suddenly, and with a sigh, she continued her work, all alone.


End file.
